A White Christmas
by ErinM
Summary: It's Christmas Eve. Do you know where your team leaders are? That's right, campers: WORKING *post-series
1. A White Christmas

**Title**: A White Christmas  
**Author**: Erin (erinm_)  
**Characters, Pairing**: Stephen, Natalie and Frank (mentions of everyone else)  
**Rating**: G  
**Summary**: It's Christmas Eve. Do you know where your team leaders are? That's right, campers: WORKING  
**Warning**: post-series *Written for Prompt Challenge 01 at **stephen_natalie** on LiveJournal. Prompt 02-02: **Winter** For **laeliamouse**'s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!  
**Disclaimer**: The original characters belongs to NBC and their respective actors.

_Oh, the weather outside is frightful..._

There was a reason that the Adamson Act of 1916 decreed a work day at eight hours. Granted, the law was passed for railroad workers, not to mention repealed a few years later... but the idea was there: Put in your time and go home.

Over the years, of course, employers adjusted the work day slightly, adding a sixth day here and a few hours there. The average was nine hours, but a work day could go all the way to twelve hours. Of course, different occupations required different working hours, such as the case for, say... doctors.

A medical emergency could occur at any point in a twenty-four hour period, and the swing shift was born. Well, it was probably born for some other reason, but it was put to the greatest use by firemen, policemen, hospital staff and the clerks at 7-11.

Occasionally, one employee would pop up who had a problem understanding the concept of the end of the work day. They would stay longer than everyone else, trying to get more work done and theorizing that, if the work was done today, it wouldn't have to be done tomorrow.

The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, was cursed with two such individuals. Look up _**workaholic**_ in the dictionary and one would find a picture of either Stephen Connor or Natalie Durant. If it was a more expensive dictionary, there might even be a photo of both of them.

It was understood that, after 18 hours, a person might as well be drunk. Okay, only point-oh-five parts per million of alcohol, give or take a point-oh. Breaks weren't forced for an eight-hour day, assuming that a person would be moving around; getting coffee, going to the restroom.

Most companies required a 30-minute break for any employee working a ten-hour shift... not that anyone would dare tell Stephen Connor to take a break. Rumor had it that, once upon a time, Kate Ewing forced him to take a break and – depending on who you were to ask – a scuffle took place.

Really, it had just been a shouting match, but having a story of a fistfight in the hallway gave the underlings a reason to avoid Stephen and he liked it that way. He didn't have time for that kind of nonsense, for he had a world to save.

Whereas Stephen Connor chose not to take a break, Natalie Durant simply forgot to. She had a tendency to become so engrossed in her work that she would look down to her microscope and back up, five minutes later, to find three-and-a-half hours had passed.

Anyone who paid enough attention to the two of them would learn a few things, simply by watching their actions. No matter what one was working on, if the other showed up with a question or a problem, the focus turned to them and them alone.

The other members of their team also had a habit of getting the two of them to break through the shell of work; Frank Powell usually cornering Stephen and Eva or Miles pulling Natalie from her lab.

This particular evening, however, there was no one to make sure they left the building at a semi-decent hour. Miles had left the day before, heading home to spend the holiday with his father. Eva was looking forward to a long weekend with her DVD collection, a tub of ice cream and not having to get out of bed for anything.

Frank had cleared out with most everyone else around four, as the weather was turning and he wanted to get home to Kim and the girls. He knew Stephen wouldn't listen, but Frank gave him the "don't stay too late" speech, simply because it was tradition. He'd also stopped by to wish Natalie a happy holiday, but she was nowhere to be found.

He was stepping onto the elevator when Natalie came around a corner and gave him a wide smile. "Don't stay too late, Nat," Frank warned. "Weather's supposed to get nasty." Natalie gave him a nod and a quick hug and kiss before he moved into the elevator.

"Tell Kim and the girls Merry Christmas from me," she asked, waving slightly as the doors closed. Natalie sighed as the indicator light started flashing past the floors and she turned toward her lab. Moving down the hallway, Natalie breezed past Stephen's open door and stepped into the library for a moment before moving back into her space.

The flash of white made Stephen look up from his stack of papers, but whatever thought that had crossed his mind was lost when his phone rang. He reached for the receiver and looked back to the report. "Connor." A second later, Stephen smiled and leaned back in his large chair.

"Hey, bud. How's Chicago?" Lisa and Jack had been invited to spend the holidays with her parents and Stephen urged them to go, assuming he'd be stuck at work in the end. "Cool," he smiled, reaching for a pen and tapping it on the desktop a few times. "You're missing out on snow, I hear," he informed Jack with a smile.

"Yeah," he nodded a moment later. "Tell you mom I said 'Hi'," he asked. "Yep. Love you, too, kiddo," he smiled again and waited a moment before hanging up the phone. Stephen turned toward the large window on his right and noted that it was getting darker outside. _'Another hour,'_ he decided, and leaned back over the desk.

About two hours later, when Stephen had to turn his desk lamp on to finish reading the report, he realized that he might have stared at the reports just a bit too long. Running a hand over his eyes, Stephen pushed up from his chair and stepped over to the window and glanced out to a sea of orangey-white against black.

There was nearly two feet of snow on the ground and the glow from the street lights gave the place an odd Halloween-look. Glancing at his watch, Stephen found that it was nearly 7:30 and, judging by the lack of tire marks on the main road, he guessed the road crew hadn't made it by yet.

Judging by the amount of snow on the ground, and the speed with which it was falling, getting home would be a chore. A crashing sound brought his attention back to the office and Stephen turned to see Natalie bobbing up and down in her lab. It was one thing for him to still be there – he'd slept in his office many times – but Natalie being there was bad.

He'd promised Frank that he would make sure she got out before the snow and he'd failed. Normally, he knew Frank would get over it, but this was Natalie. He didn't want her life at risk, driving home in this weather. And Frank had only asked for the one thing.

Stephen moved across the hallway and leaned against the door jamb as Natalie picked up the pen and the notebook. "You okay?" he asked, leaning in slightly as she reached under the table.

"Yeah," Natalie breathed, stretching a bit more to get the stapler and the tape dispenser. Stephen moved into the lab and around to the other side of the desk and leaned down. Picking up the stapler, he held it out for Natalie and she gave him one of those 'Yes, I'm making it difficult'-looks.

"What happened?" he asked, grabbing the tape dispenser and hauling himself back up as Natalie did the same. She motioned to the tabletop and shook her head.

"I turned and my sweater caught and when I turned back, I managed to swipe the whole thing clean," she huffed. Stephen set the tape down and pursed his lips slightly as his arms crossed.

"It's snowing," he said simply. Natalie raised an eyebrow and glanced toward her own set of windows, but saw nothing but black.

"It happens," she shrugged and pulled the stool back as she sat down. Stephen uncrossed his arms and stepped around the table.

"Come on," he announced. "It's Christmas Eve, Natalie. Go home before you're stuck here." The look he received made Stephen breathe a smile, simply because he shared the sentiment. Celebrating a holiday alone was never much fun... especially when there was work to be done.

"Are you leaving, too?" Natalie asked with a smirk, knowing he would shove her out into the cold, then come right back inside.

"No, I'm coming back up here, because I want Powell to kill me," Stephen joked. "Yes, Nat, I will go home." Natalie narrowed her eyes and considered his answer for a moment before deciding he was telling her the truth.

"Fine," she huffed and closed the report sitting in front of her, recapped the pen and flipped off the desk lamp. Stephen moved over to the door and picked up her jacket, holding it out. Natalie shrugged into the coat and dug into the pockets for her gloves, pulling out a hat instead.

"Hold that," she ordered, pushing the knit hat into Stephen's hands and digging her hands into her pockets again. Stephen smiled lightly and pulled the hat onto her head and held a hand out, motioning for her to exit first. Natalie gave him a look as she produced a set of gloves and stood in the doorway of his office while Stephen grabbed his cell phone and flipped off his own desk lamp.

Picking up his coat, Stephen moved into the hallway and Natalie reached for his scarf as Stephen pulled the coat on. He patted the pockets for his keys but blinked when Natalie pulled the scarf around his neck and gave the ends a slight tug. "Don't you own a hat?" she asked, giving him a look.

Stephen made a face and turned toward the elevator, letting his hand fall to her lower back as he walked her down the hall. Natalie yawned into her gloved hand as Stephen pulled his own gloves from his jacket pockets and pressed the button on the elevator.

The light indicated the elevator was one floor down when the entire hallway went dark. Not only that, but the outside lights had gone off, as well, plummeting the two doctors in darkness. Well, there was an odd glow of light coming in through the window. Natalie turned toward Stephen and saw him shake slightly.

Rolling her eyes, Natalie reached out blindly to swat his arm. "It's not funny," she said, trying to not laugh herself. Stephen's hand found her elbow and she jumped as the generator kicked on, giving them the glow of soft, greenish-white lights and the emergency alarm.

Natalie's hands moved to cover her ears as Stephen winced, and he led her down the hall a ways, trying to get as far away from the alarm as possible. He pulled her into his office and shut the door, motioning for her to sit down.

She huffed and sat down with a thump as Stephen moved to the middle of his office and ran a hand over his jaw. "Merry Christmas," Natalie mumbled. Stephen turned to look at her and she pointed to the digital clock behind his desk. Stephen turned and breathed a laugh as he realized what she'd meant.

It was flashing 12:03.


	2. Silent Night

**Title**: Silent Night  
**Author**: Erin (erinm_)  
**Characters, Pairing**: Stephen and Natalie (mention of Frank, Kate and a few OCs)  
**Rating**: G  
**Summary**: Stephen and Natalie are trapped inside NIH. With beer, thankfully.  
**Warning**: post-series, promptly following A White Christmas. *Written for Prompt Challenge 01 at **stephen_natalie** on LiveJournal. Prompt 02-03: **Night** For **laeliamouse**, who is ridiculously patient.  
**Disclaimer**: The original characters belongs to NBC and their respective actors.

"Well... this is just great,"" Stephen huffed. Natalie reached up and rubbed her ear - the ringing was actually slightly painful, she noticed – and yawned again.

"Probably for the best," she mused, getting a dirty look from Stephen. "Well," she shrugged and leaned back in the black chair. "Look at it this way: probably saving you from being rear-ended down on the highway."

Stephen breathed slowly and realized she was probably right. Still, if he was going to be stranded somewhere without power, the last place he'd want to be is the office. That was just cruel torture. A muffled laugh from Natalie brought him back and his eyes narrowed.

"Sorry," Natalie smiled. "Just thinking of the irony. Us," she waved between the two of them, "trapped at work, for once, not by choice." Realizing that they were thinking the same thing, Stephen let out a breath and turned away to hide his smile.

"And, of course, no one knows we're here."

"You could call Frank," Natalie said, pulling her gloves off and shoving them back into her pockets. "He'll come rescue us."

"Yeah, that's a great phone call to have. 'Hey, Powell. It's Connor. Yeah, I know you said to go home, but I can't. No, really, I can't leave the building. I'm stuck inside'," he rattled off, moving over to hang up his now-removed coat. "'Oh, and Natalie's here, too.'"

"Come on, Stephen, this is a dream come true for you." Stephen gave her a dirty look and refused to admit that he was actually kind of entertained at their current situation. Though, he'd never considered the scenario with Natalie there. "So," she said, pushing up from the chair. "What should we do?"

"Do?" Stephen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Natalie shrugged. "Until someone comes by to let us out. Or the power comes back and we can get out. You're gonna just sit here and wait?" Natalie's eyes narrowed and she motioned to the door with her shoulder.

"I'm not exactly in the mood to start prowling the floors like James Bond, Natalie."

"Ha ha," Natalie chided. "I'm gonna go get a beer." She moved toward the door and added: "You want one, Double-oh-seven?" she teased.

"Unless you have something stronger," Stephen nodded. Natalie shook her head and smiled as she left his office and moved back into the hallway, hand to her left ear. For whatever reason, the sound was actually painful on that side. Ducking into her office, Natalie sighed as the alarm shut off and the halls were once again silent.

"Thank God," she muttered. And probably thank the staff across the quad at the medical center. Natalie wasn't sure if the buildings were on the same circuit, but, for now, she'd pretend it was true. There was enough of a glow from the emergency lights to let her see the small fridge, but she had to reach blindly for the bottle opener.

"You makin' a chore of this?" Stephen asked from the doorway. Natalie rolled her eyes and turned back, holding out one of the still-closed bottles. Stephen reached for the offered beverage and twisted the cap off.

"Showoff," Natalie grumbled, finally finding the bottle opener.

"Practice," Stephen grinned. Even in the dark, Natalie could see the brightness of his smile and the sparkle in his eyes. "Best light seems to be in the library," he said, holding a hand out and motioning out of the office.

"You gonna read a book?" Natalie huffed as she neared him.

"Maybe I am," Stephen snapped back. They weren't exactly in close quarters, but if they started fighting now, it would definitely be a long night. Stephen glanced at the rim of the bottle and sighed. Reaching a thumb up to his brow, Stephen bit down on his tongue and gave Natalie a sideways glance.

Natalie put a hand on his waist and pushed him out of the doorway. "Come on, Connor. I have an idea." Stephen let her push him across the hall and took her beer as she held it out to him. Natalie moved over to the first bookshelf and reached behind the row of books, feeling for the box she knew was hiding back there.

"What-" Stephen asked as Natalie pulled her hand back and gave the box a shake. She ignored his question and moved over to his side, kicking one of the chairs out and she popped the lid off and turned the box over on the table.

Stephen sat down in the next chair and looked up to Natalie as he registered the chess pieces. "Miles mentioned he always wanted to learn. We haven't had much luck," she said with a shake of her head.

"You play chess, Doctor Durant?" Stephen asked in an impressed tone.

"Only because George demanded it." Stephen snorted slightly; George Donovan their former team leader. His retirement prompted Kate's promotion to Director, while Stephen elected to stay with Frank and Natalie. Natalie pulled out the various pieces and started setting up the board.

"Well," she added a moment later, talking more to herself than Stephen, "We used to play **Battle Chess** at school."

"What's **Battle Chess**?" Stephen asked, pulling one of the castles closer, inspecting it.

"Computer game. My roommate had it on her computer. It was rather violent, actually," Natalie said with a shrug.

"Violent computer games?" Stephen scoffed, garnering a glare from Natalie. "How violent?"

"Well, the pieces killed each other, for one. The Queen was a real piece of work," Natalie nodded, reaching for her beer again. "It was nice, though, because it would tell you where you could move, and I retained the highlights. Gave me a slight edge with George," she grinned.

Stephen nodded and put the castle back. Leaning back in his chair, he watched as Natalie tried to look over the rules with what little light she had. Smirking, his eyes moved to the beer bottle and he said: "Thought you knew the rules."

"It's been a while, Connor," she said airily. _'That it has,'_ he thought. Stephen couldn't remember the last time he'd played chess.

And he couldn't let her show him up.


End file.
